Pennsylvania Railroad 



F 199 
. P41 
Copy 1 



GUIDE 



TO 



WASHINGTON. 



1897-8 

\ 



/^ff^ 



(* 



'» 



I 



r- ' 



/ 



/ 



/ 




< 
J 

■M 

I 
(- 



PHNNSVL\ AM A W \II I'OAI). 



A GUIDi; 



TO 



WASHINGTON. 



I «S t; 7 - i*^ . 



J. R. W(XMX GK). W. BOYD. 



3519 



Copyrighted 1897, by the 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 



Press of AUeu, Lane & Scott, Phi/n. 



WASlilNr]Tr)\ 



THE CAPITOL. 

THH Capitol of the United States is situated on 
Capitol Hill, one and one-third miles from the White 
House and half a mile from the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Station. The building is open from g.co A. M. to 4.30 
P. M. daily, except Sundays and holidays. Congress 
goes into session during its term at tweKe o'clock 
noon. Visitors are allowed on the floor of the Senate 
and House of Representatises until 11.4s A. M. during 
the days on which Congress meets : after tiiat hour 
they are admitted to the galleries only. 

The central portion of the building is constructed 
of Virginia sandstone, painted white: the Senate and 
House wings are of Massachusetts marble. The col- 
umns of all porticoes are monoliths. The entire 
length of the Capitol is sesen hundred and fifty-one 
feet and four inches : width, three hundred and I'iftv 
feet ; area, over three and one-half acres. 

The corner stone of the main building was laid by 
President Washington on September iX, 170}. The 

■'tier stone of the extensions was laid by President 
huimore on July 4, iSsi, Daniel Webster being the 
orator. Until the completi<Mi of the extensions the 
Senate occupied the present Supreme C.owrt R..om, and 



the House of Representatives the present National 
Statuary Hall ; the extensions were first occupied by 
Congress on January 4, 1859. 

The dome of the Capitol, surmounted by the statue 
of Freedom, towers nearly three hundred feet above the 




ROGER S BRONZE DOORS.— DEATH OF WARREN, 
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

esplanade. It may be ascended by a winding stair- 
way. In the central building are the Rotunda, the 
Supreme Court Room, and the Statuary Hall. The 
Senate occupies the north wing and the House of 
Representatives the south wing. 



The Brumidi fresco «)n the Rotunda canopy is one of 
the greatest works of art in America. \i\ tiie centre is 
the Apotheosis of Washington. On his right sits Free- 
dom : on his left, Victor\'; about him float .lerial figures 
representing the original thirteen State«^. Around this 
centre piece are groups representing the Fall of Tyr- 
anny, Agriculture, Mechanics, Commerce, Marine, 
Arts, and Sciences. At the east entrance to the Ro- 
tunda are the famous Rogers bronze doors, illustrat- 
ing scenes in the career of Columbus. 

The National Statuary Hall, the old Hall of Repre- 
sentatives, the scene of the debates by Webster, Clay, 
and Calhoun, is set apart for the reception of two 
statues from each State, and now contains the figures 
of nearly all the prominent men in the nation's history. 

THE EXECUTIVE MANSION. 

The "White House," the official home of the Presi- 
dent of the United States, Is situated on Pennsylvania 
Avenue at Sixteenth Street. The East Room or State 
Parlor is open to visitors from lo.cx) A. M. to 2.00 
P. M. daily except Sundays and holidays. Ordina- 
rily the President receives visitors in the East Room at 
3.00 P. M. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 
and persons having business with the President will t>e 
received from 12.00 o'clock noon to 1.00 P. M. ever>' 
day except Tuesdays and Fridays. These rules are sub- 
ject to change, however, at the will of the President. 

The building is constructed of Virginia freestone and 
is one hundred and seventy feet long and eighty-six 
feet in depth. It consists of a rustic basement, two 



8 

stories and an attic, the whole surmounted by an orna- 
mental balustrade. The White House was the first 
public building erected at the new seat of Govern- 
ment. The corner stone was laid by Washington, Oc- 
tober 13, 1792. John Adams was its first occupant in 
1800, In 1814 it was burned by the British, and upon 




THE " WHITE HOUSE." 

its restoration the stone was painted white to oblit- 
erate the marks of the fire. 

The East Room is usually the only one shown to 
visitors. From the grand central corridor, however, 
which extends clear through to the conservatory, other 
rooms lead off, sumptuously furnished, and taking 



their names from the predominant cun>i oj their Ue».i>ra- 
tions. The Green Room is now used principally for 
a music room. The Blue R«>om is also used by the 
President as a reception room. It was in this n)om 
that the Cleveland marriage took place in June, i8i<6. 
The Red Room is used as the family sitting room, 
and also for receptions by the ladies of the President's 
household. Beyond the Red Room is the State Uin- 
ing Room, where the state dinners are given to the 
Cabinet, the Justices of the Supreme Court, and 
the Diplomatic Corps. The President's Room on the 
second tloor is reached by a stairway which ascends 
from the hall betweeii the vestibule and the East 
Room. Opening off from the President's Room is 
the Cabinet Room. All of these rooms are luxurious 
in their furnishings and contain many valuable paint- 
ings of former Presidents and noted personages. 

THE TREASURY. 

The Treasury of the United States is situated on 
Pennsylvania Avenue at Fifteenth Street, it is open 
to visitors from o-oo A. M. to 2.00 P. M., 
daily except Sundays and holl- 
lays, but the tour of the build- 
ing can be made only t>etween 
11.00 A. M. and 12.00 noon, and 
1. 00 and 2.00 P. M. 

This building is constructed of 

sandstone and granite, and has a 

total length of four hundred and fifty 

feet and a width of two hundred and 




TO 

fifty feet. Its site was chosen by President Jackson, 
who, becoming impatient at the long delay, stuck his 
cane into the ground one morning and ordered, " Build 
it here." This is the bank of the nation, and in it are 
to be seen the Cash Room, Division of Issue, the 




NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Redemption Division, the bond and gold and silver 
vaults, and the Secret Service Museum. 



BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING. 

This important branch of the Treasury Department 
is located in a handsome brick building on the Mall 



II 



between Fourteenth nnJ B Streets, quite near the 
WashinRton Mominient. It is ht-re th.it all the na- 
tional paper currency, (jovernment bonds, stamps, 
passports. cVc, are engraved and printed. On the 
ground floor is a museum containing specimens of the 
old fractional currency known as " shinplasters." 
series of all the notes printed, beside many specimens 
of counterfeit notes and the tools and machinery used 
in their manufacture. The building is open to vis- 
itors between ().cx) A. M. and 12.00 noon, and i2.}o 
and 2.30 P. M., and upon application to the ofticer at 
the door a competent guide will be furnished to show 
the visitors through the building and explain the 
various processes and methods used in making the 
national bank notes. 



.<?' 



STATE. WAR, AND NAVY. 

The State, War, and Navy Building is situated west 
of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is 
open to visitors from goo A. M. to 2.00 
P. M. daily except Sundays and holi- 
days. It is constructed of granite, four 
stories high, with a frontage of three 
liundred and forty-two feet on Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue and a depth of live hun- 
'' Jred and sixty-five feet, and is re- 
garded as one of the most magnificent 
'ffice buildings in the world. It has five 
hundred rooms and two miles of marble 
,,,. halls. The War Department occupies the 
A* west wing, the Navy Department the east 




12 

wing, and the State Department the south. The main 
entrance is on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

The offices of the Secretaries are on the second floor 
and are accessible only for business, but the richly fur- 
nished anterooms may be inspected. 

Many interesting relics may be seen in the State 
Library, such as Washington's sword and Frank- 
lin's staff, a fac simile of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, the Great Seal of the United States, and numer- 
ous medals and manuscripts. 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

The Smithsonian Institution stands in a large park 
on the Mall between Seventh and Twelfth Streets, and 
is open to visitors daily, except Sunday, between 9.C0 
A. M. and 4.30 P. M. In the museum may be found 
many fine specimens of stuffed birds and animals of 
all kinds, besides thousands of unique and interesting 
curios gathered from all parts of the world. 

In the park surrounding the Institution may be seen 
one of the finest sylvan collections in this country, 
there being in all nearly two hundred varieties of trees. 

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Closely adjoining the Smithsonian Institution is the 
National Museum, the most perfect building for the 
purpose in existence. Its architecture is Romanesque, 
and the building is adorned with many fine groups of 
statuary, chief among which is the group represent- 
ing Columbia as protectress of Science and Industry. 
Within the walls of this great building are many 



»3 

ciirioi ol mlcicit to bdtli old and younj;. 1 iic Uhilcd 
States Centennial exhibit has been pKiLfd here, besides 
the relics of America's greatest generals, Washington 
and Grant. The etiinological, metallurgical, and 
geological exhibition is especialK large and complete. 
Chief among the curios and exhibits in point of 




<:ONnRFSSIONAI. IIBMARV. 

interest are groups portraying the h.irdshlps incident 
to explorations in the extreme North, gold mining, 
fishing, and life on the plains. In this building is 
the original John Bull locomotive, which attr.icted so 
much interest at the World's Fair, l>cing loaned bv 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. 



14 



This building is open daily except Sunday between 
9.00 A. M. and 4.30 P. M. 

THE NEW CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY. 

This magnificent building is situated just east of the 
Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and B Street. It is 
open to the public from 9.00 A. M. to 4.30 P. M. week- 
days. The material used in its construction is the pur- 
est white New Hampshire granite. The order of archi- 
tecture is the Italian Renaissance. The building covers 
about three and one-half acres, and is the most elabor- 
ately adorned edifice in this country. In its frescoes 
and friezes, its statuary and paintings, its bronzes 
and bas reliefs, it bears comparison with any of the 
public buildings of the world. It has forty-three 
miles of shelving, and its present capacity of one 
million eight hundred thousand volumes could easily 
be increased to four million five hundred thousand 
volumes. The largest library in the world, outside of 

this building, that of France, con- 
/! vi,>^*«# -^lii tains only two million two hun- 

dred and fifty thousand volumes. 

THE NEW CORCORAN 
GALLERY OF ART. 

The new Corcoran Art Gallery, 
recently completed, is situated on 
Seventeenth Street, occupying the 
entire square betw^een New York 
Avenue and E Street, N. W. Vis- 
itors are admitted free on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and 
Saturdays from 9.30 A. M. to 4.00 P. M., and on 




>5 

Sundays from 1.30 to s-oo P. M. On other days an 
admission fee of twenty-five cents is charged. The 
building is constructed of (jeorgia white marbl'- in 
the Ne«)-Grec style of architecture. 

rhe collection of paintings, sculpture, and bronzes 
Is very large, embracing works of the most eminent 
artists of the world, mostly contemporaneous, 

THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT. 

* *—* OUBTLESS one of the most interesting 
objects at the National Capital is the 
Monument. This greatest of memo- 
rial shafts, rising to a height of five 
hundred and fifty-five feet, is situated 
in Washington Park, near Fourteenth 
Street, and is open to visitors daily 
from •).oo A. M. to 4.30 P. M. The 
foundations of the monument were 

■ ijjt F"; Tjf iS«Ss that the completed structure 

^^^^^ ^^ '*^ '^P^" ^^ ^'^^ public. The lower 

^^^^ part of this imposing edifice is built 

of New tngland granite, faced with 

crystal marble. In the construction of the upper part 

of the monument white marble exclusively is used. 

The top is reached by an elevator running every half 
hour or by a flight of nine hundred steps. The view 
from the top, embracing Washington and its environ- 
ments, the winding Potomac, and the heights of Vir- 
ginia, is most magnificent. The total cost of the 
monument was 51.300,000. 




i6 



THE PATENT OFFICE. 

The building of the Department of the hiterior, in 
which the Patent Office is located, is a massive struct- 
ure of freestone, marble, and granite in the 
Doric style, and is bounded by Seventh and 
Ninth and F and G Streets, covering 
two large squares. Visitors are admit- 




ted to the building and museum of 
models from 9.00 A. M. to 2.00 
P. M. The museum of models, the 
chief point of interest to visitors, is 
located on the second floor. Here 
may be seen models of all the inventions patented by 
American genius. Among the two hundred thousand 
or more models is the original printing press of Benja- 
min Franklin. A part of the models are on exhibition 
in the Union Building on G Street between Sixth and 
Seventh Streets. 

THE PENSION OFFICE. 

The Pension Building is situated in the northern 
part of Judiciary Square, on G Street 
between Fourth and Fifth Streets, 
N. W. Visitors are admitted be- 
tween 9.00 A.M. and 4.00 P. M. 
It is an immense fire-proof struct- 
ure built of brick and ornament- 
ed with a border of terra cotta 
bas relief. Here is kept the rec- 
ord of the one million tw^o hundred 
thousand pension applicants. This 






17 

buildiiiR is the largest of its kind in the world, over fif- 
teen million bricks being used in its construction. The 
estimated cost was 5 1,000,000. 



THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 

On F Street and directly opposite the Patent Oftice 
is the huge granite structure in which the 
business of the Post Office department is 
transacted. It is open to \ isitors be- 
tween the hours of y.oo A. M. and 
2.00 P. M. Probably the most inter- 
esting sight to the visitor is the Dead 
Letter Oftice and its museum stocked 
with all sorts of curious objects taken 
from the unclaimed letters which are 
received at this department in numbers 
varying from fifteen to twenty thou- 
^and dailv. 




THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

This building is located at North Capitol and H 
Streets, N. E., and visitors are admitted from 10.00 
until I I.JO A. M. and from 1.00 to j.oo P. M. It is an 
uninteresting building to one who is not engaged in 
the same art, and the ordinary visitor prefers to spend 
his time in some of the other buildings. 

It is said to be the largest printing establishment 
in the world, and in order to successfully handle 
the enormous amount of printing required by the 



i8 



Government the building has been divided into four 
parts. 

The first floor contains the press and reading rooms, 
the second the composing rooms and oftices, the third 
floor the binding department, while on the fourth floor 
all of the folding is done. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

The Agricultural Buildings are 
situated in the Mall, a short dis- 
tance west of the Smithsonian In- 
, stitution. They are open to vis- 
V- itors from g.oo A. M. to 4.00 
,^< p. M. In the museum may 
x'^v.V^s*-'" be seen a complete exhibition 
of the agricultural, horticul- 
tural, pomological, and botan- 
ical productions of the country. The building also 
contains an elaborate library, besides a large miscel- 
laneous collection of trees, shrubs, and plants. 




' ! 






THE WEATHER BUREAU. 

The interesting little building occupied by the 
Weather Bureau is situated at the corner of M and 
Twenty-second Streets. Visitors are admitted between 
the hours of 9.00 A. M. and 2.00 P. M. Here are 
kept in active use instruments for measuring the ve- 
locity of the wind, delicate barometers, and curiously- 
devised instruments for determining the volume of 
rainfall. 



19 

THE NEW NAVAL OBSERVATORY. 

I he new Naval Obser\'atory is situated on I jeorge- 
town Heigiits, in West Washington. Visitors arc 
admitted freely by day, but niniU \ isitors are 
restricted to Tuesdays and Thurs- 
days, wiien admission may l>e 
gained by permit from the Super- 
intendent. On these nights the 
Observer is present to give visit- 
ors an opportunity to view the 
heavens through tlie large tele- 
scope. The meridian of Washing- 
" ton passes through the centre of the 
dome of this building, and the large 
time ball is dropped from the mast 
every dav at 12.00 M., and instantly 
noontime is transmitted by telegraph to 
all parts of the United States. One of the 
largest telescopes in the world, a twenty- 
six-inch equatorial, costing 5s^),ooo, is located here. 

THE LINCOLN MUSEUM. 

In a small tluee-story house at 516 Tenth Street, 
N. W.. may be seen the room in which President 
Lincoln died on the morning of April 15, iJVis. The 
building is open daily to visitors, and a small fee is 
charged for admission. In this house is a large col- 
lection of Lincoln relics, among which are over two 
hundred portraits, [directly opposite this building Is 
the site of Ford's Theatre, in a box of which Lincoln 
received his death wound. 




20 



SOLDIERS' HOME. 

The Soldiers' Home is situated on a hill three miles* 
east of the Capitol, and may be reached via the Sev- 
enth Street cars. It is open to visitors from 9.00 
A. M. until sunset daily except Sundays. 

The grounds cover some five hundred acres of diver- 
sified lawn, slope, and ravine. It is an institution for 
the benefit of soldiers who have been honorably dis- 
charged from the regular army after twenty years' ser- 
vice, or who have been disabled by wounds or disease. 

It was at this picturesque spot that President Arthur 
spent his summer vacations. 

MT. VERNON. 

This historic spot, the home of General Washing- 
ton, is situated 
on the south 
bank of the 
river, and is 
reached via the 
Washington, 
Alexandria & 
Mount Vernon 
Railway Com- 
pany's electric 
line from i;^j4 
Street and 
Pennsylvania 
Avenue. In 
the mansion 
the rooms will 




''r^ 



22 

be found just as they were in the time when the " Fa- 
ther of his Country " lived at this beautiful spot. 

The old family vault, in which Washington's body 
lay until 1837, may be seen in the beautifully-wooded 
park surrounding the house. The body now rests in 
the handsome marble sarcophagus. 

ARLINGTON. 

The Arlington National Cemetery is situated on the 
Virginia side of the Potomac, on a hill overlooking the 
Capital. It is reached by the cars of the Washing- 
ton, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Railway, starting 
from 1312 Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The 
cemetery is open daily, including Sundays, from sun- 
rise to sunset. 

At Arlington rest sixteen thousand soldiers who gave 
up their lives in the War of the Rebellion. It is his- 
toric ground. The mansion, one of the old landmarks, 
was built in the early part of the century by a foster 
son of Washington. On the 22d of April, 1861, Rob- 
ert E. Lee went out from this, his home, to fight for the 
Confederacy. 

The view from Arlington Heights is most beautiful. 
Below flows the peaceful Potomac ; on the farther side, 
with its towering monument, its parks, and its imposing 
buildings, lies the Capital of the Nation ; beyond rise 
the encircling hills, rolling gently away to the dim, dis- 
tant horizon. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 310 455 2 




